


Faking It

by soobadnoonecanstopher



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Co-workers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:02:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28421406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soobadnoonecanstopher/pseuds/soobadnoonecanstopher
Summary: Genre: Fluff / Smut in part 2 (18+ only)Characters: You X ChanyeolThe prompt: You kind of-sort of said you had a boyfriend and now you both are invited to a ‘couples only’ party and now you have to find a boyfriend ASAPA/N:  No real animals were harmed in the making of this fanfiction. WARNING: for rodents intended for consumption by pet snakes.WARNING: Public sex/handjob, Praise kink, slightly sub!Yeol but mostly DOM!reader. Gratuitous machismo, Idiocy, and usage of the word 'bitch' in a degrading way.Word count: Part 1: 11.6k, Part 2: 7.2k - Total 18.6k
Relationships: Park Chanyeol/Original Female Character(s), Park Chanyeol/Reader, Park Chanyeol/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

****It was one time.** **

****One. Time.** **

****It had never happened before that and it probably wouldn't happen again. You weren’t the type to go to clubs in the first place, and you usually didn't overindulge in alcohol to the point where you did things like this. A few drinks, sure. Just enough to make the loud thumping of the club music tolerable. Just enough to make you want to dance with your friends and perhaps a guy here or there.** **

****But what you definitely didn’t do, was get drunk enough to find yourself on a sticky padded bench on the back wall of darkened clubs sitting next to a complete fucking stranger who was laughing way too much for the situation in front of you as you both bonded over the way your heads swam and pulsed along with the flashing lights and sweaty gyrating bodies around you.** **

****He was loud enough for you to actually be able to understand him over the music and he was leaning against your head as he spoke, his voice against your neck and his eyes on the women who danced.** **

****He was complaining about something. Your drink was strong and sweet and you sipped through two tiny straws, trying and failing to pace yourself. It tasted too sweet on your tongue. That sweetness would be your downfall.** **

****“--maybe my problem is the type of women I’m into. Maybe I need to take a step back and really look deeper. It’s just those fucking hot girls. So many fucking hot girls, they’re all the same--”** **

****You nodded your head slowly and deeply. What was he talking about?** **

****“I mean those legs and those short skirts and the tits, my god the tits, just--” you heard him groan in frustration as he thrust his arms forward, forearms surging together as he pressed up what you figured was his imaginary tits and did a little wiggle.** **

****And he was laughing again. His arms flailed and he shook and fell forward and you leaned back, having learned your lesson the last time he swung too wide and hit the drink you held in your hand, sloshing a third of it out of the cup, down your hand and over your bare leg.** **

****He was probably the reason this bench was so sticky. You shifted and felt your skin cling to the surface, pulling harder you felt the hold of the vinyl give like pulling a piece of tape off your skin.** **

****“Yeah I know those girls,” you said, feeling somewhat obligated to keep up your side of the conversation even though you really couldn't remember** ** ****even** ** ****sitting down here with him, to begin with.** **

****The longer you squinted at his face, the more the hazy memories sharpened and you remembered how it started on the dance floor and he had somehow landed himself against your back, gyrating hips against your ass and remarking something about a dance boner.** **

****“Right? I’ve been screwing them, but really, what if all this time I’m just screwing myself.” his voice dropped with his latest revelation and his eyes widened along with his mouth as he sat there, unfocused on your face, yet now finally facing you as he spoke to you. “They’re just all so cold. Just bitches. Just these cold cold bitches.”** **

****“I should stay away from the hot ones. Maybe I need to go for girls like you,” he said and you noticed the way his eyes roamed over your whole body, hovering a bit too long over the leg with the spilled drink going down it.** **

****“You’re kinda a mess,” he said, “definitely not my type.” You looked closely into the man’s eyes. Was he just going to sit there and say these things about you?** **

****Was this a tactic?** **

****“You’re also not my type.” There was no animosity in your voice, just as he had sounded like he was simply stating facts, you did the same and honestly, he wasn't your type. He was a dramatic over-sharer and you were getting a little tired of protecting your drink every time he laughed at whatever imaginary funny thing was happening.** **

****With your admission, he nodded his head with a small shrug of acceptance and looked off at the dance floor with a sigh.** **

****“I’m really drunk. Wanna make out?”** **

****“I guess...let me finish my drink first.” the haze in your mind offered you no reasons not to and you downed the sweet liquid in your glass and set it on the floor next to your feet. You were drunk. You were bored.** **

****Surprisingly, the kiss was not bad. You were just as drunk as he was so there was really no awkwardness about this and the softness of his lips and gentleness of his tongue against yours seemed like a good match. The kiss was fun. You had been getting rather restless sitting here watching the hoards of drunk people fondle each other and without the pressure of performing in anyway for the man who wasn’t your type at all, despite the extremely complimentary way his mouth moved against yours, you felt downright at ease as you returned his kiss with one that held its own ground.** **

****As far as kisses go, this was up there in your top 5 at least. It was a shame you didn't know his name and you probably wouldn't even remember his face when you sobered up tomorrow morning.** **

****When he pulled away from your mouth his hands were on your face and it felt surprisingly gentle. There was an unexpected tenderness to the way this man handled you and perhaps this was part of the problem with the kinds of women he dated. He was sensitive, this much was obvious when he paused to look into your eyes the moment his lips released yours from their hold.** **

****“Wow,” he said; his sweet breath fanning over your lips and you watched his focus drift over your face slowly, dropping from your eyes back down to your lips as his eyes seemed to change and flutter, fighting to stay open. “I want to keep kissing you,” he said a moment before his lips were back and the tenderness changed as his head angled to match your own, his lips parted to match your own and his hands began to move when yours did.** **

****His hands were big and their exploration of your body over your clothes felt clumsy. It was probably the alcohol in him. There was a slip of a hot palm down your flank, ghosting over your ass momentarily before he slipped his hand down your thigh and reached your knee; the sticky one and he pulled back from the kiss just as your own hand had reached for the space over his crotch, where you palmed what you were pretty sure was at least a half hard erection below the fabric.** **

****“Ugh-- I put my hand in it,” his voice was disgusted and his hand was lifted into the air. You could see the faint pink wetness on his palm for a moment before he lowered his quickly and wiped the wetness off onto your skirt.** **

****The magic of the weirdly compatible kiss was gone and you took your own hand off the spot between his legs and wiped away the moisture on your mouth with the back of your hand as he straightened his spine out and sat up and further away from you on the bench.** **

****Along with the magic, you could feel your desire to play along leaving and you caught the eye of one of the friends you had come with across the dance floor. She lifted a curious eyebrow and her eyes motioned to your side, to the man who was now preoccupied with gathering condensation from the outside of his beer bottle to wipe the stickiness from his palm and you just shook your head in response to her question.** **

****“Hey, I’m gonna go now,” you said and you presented your own hand to him to shake. He grabbed ahold quickly and his hand was wet as he shook your own.** **

****“Oh, yeah..yeah. Cool. Thanks for the** ** ****uhh** ** ****...the thing. That was really cool of you.” He bobbed his head and you bobbed your own head before turning to leave.** **

****Your friend had promised you frozen yogurt after this. Apparently, she knew of a place that was open late and you were really looking forward to some place that might have a bathroom that wasn’t absolutely disgusting so you could clean up the mess you had been left in.** **

****You did your best to walk straight, only stumbling into a few stray bodies here and there and you were thankful that tomorrow was Sunday and you would be able to sleep off the brutal hangover you were sure to have before you started your brand new job at the pet store on Monday.** **

****It was just that one time. You had literally never done anything like that before in your life, nor had you intended to make out with a complete stranger while shitfaced drunk in the back of a crowded club.** **

****You didn't even know his name.** **

****You didn't know anything about him, except that he was a bit of a carefree soul who had a tendency to say all of the wrong things, at least while drunk, and had big hands that wasted no time in getting rather touchy the second his lips touched yours.** **

****You didn’t do things like that.** **

****Yet here you stood, bright and early on a Monday morning just like any other Monday morning, dressed in the bright blue polo with the embroidered “Flo’s Pet Store” over your right breast, the one he had fondled the most, standing beside and looking up at the flushed and strikingly familiar face of your new co-worker who went by the name of--** **

****“Park Chanyeol?” The old woman’s voice spoke up and his wide and shocked eyes, clearly not having expected to see you standing beside him on his first day of work at Flo’s - where our pets are as friendly as our staff -- blinked once before he pulled his focus away from your face and onto the very small woman with white hair tied into a neat bun on top of her head. Somehow you doubted that slogan. You doubted any of these pets had had overly friendly drunken encounters with each other as you and Park Chanyeol had shared only two nights ago.** **

****“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he bowed in half at the waist, quickly and dramatically and you wondered how long you had been staring at his lanky body atop those long legs with your mouth open when you heard your own name spoken in that same old voice that felt just like knitting needles and mothballs.** **

****“Yes, Miss Flo,” you spoke softly, not wanting to draw any more of his attention than you absolutely had to while you listened for the sound of the door behind you. Your ears desperately felt around the stillness that settled over the room behind you as you searched and yet no sounds emerged. The old woman merely clapped her hands together lightly with a smile on her face and a nod of her head and the gesture made the nervous knot in your stomach pull even tighter as it flipped around and tangled into something that would surely never be able to be undone, even by the best puzzle solvers.** **

****“Wait, are we the only employees?” He spoke up before you had the chance to and the big ears that sat on the sides of his head were bright red as was the back of his neck; the panic in his voice mirrored the nerves you felt, but had managed to push back down within your belly. He had, as you recalled from Saturday night, been less adept at keeping his honest opinions to himself.** **

****Something about his voice was different today. Deeper and less slurred obviously, but the low tones you heard coming from his chest had a booming quality to them, not unlike the rumble of bass speakers thumping outside as a car passed by with its music too loud. It felt heavily modified and expensive and you hated the way it intruded down into your chest wall and disturbed your peace and quiet.** **

****“Mhmm--” Flo hummed, “just you two.”** **

****Maybe you should quit.** **

****This felt like a cosmic test. Or an exposure exercise designed to rid you of every last bit of pride you had left in your body.** **

****She walked ahead and he followed behind her the second she moved through the store. She was talking now, long-winded speeches about the pets they sold, the types of animals they carried, when the deliveries of things arrived and how the shelves were to be stalked and replaced. Your feet stalled, lingering just a bit away from where he followed her closely, dipped to help her lift or move things that she had to explain and stuck to the old woman like a piece of used chewing gum on the bottom of her shoe.** **

****You also noticed the obvious distance he kept from you; careful to keep his eyes trained only on Flo as if an actual magnetic field surrounded you and prevented him from coming too close at any point in time.** **

****Maybe he should quit.** **

****You had bills to pay and this job was hard to find. You remembered the elation you felt inside of you when you heard that voice on the line asking you if you could start on Monday.** **

****Yes. He should definitely be the one to quit. It wasn’t even your idea to make out with him that night; he was the one who suggested it in the first place. This was your job, dammit. If this was so awkward for him then he could be the one to leave.** **

****You took a big step, closing the distance between where they peered into the bottom openings of the rows of puppy cages where the piddle pads were kept and Chanyeol caught your sudden movement from the corner of his eye. He straightened his back and moved fast; taking a bit of a stumble against the wall that lined the sleeping puppies.** **

****“Oh settle down,” You heard Flo mumble under her breath, “you’re a jumpy one aren’t you?”** **

****The day dragged on. Customers came in and you took turns avoiding each other at all costs while still trying to learn the job and remain professional and helpful whenever Flo was watching.** **

****You didn’t quit.** **

****He didn’t quit.** **

****And neither of you spoke to each other more than absolutely necessary.** **

****After the first week of work, you were starting to feel a little bit desperate. It was only about four days before Flo deemed you both perfectly capable and trustworthy employees and she began arriving later and later to the store and leaving well before closing time. When she gave him the key to the store so he could lock up at the end of the day after just one month of working there, you were sure to shoot him a death glare that he certainly would have felt smack him right upside the back of his head even if it was way up there in the clouds most of the time.** **

****His smile was obnoxiously wide when he took the key and slipped it deep inside the pocket of his slacks and perhaps it was the glare that did it, but something pulled his focus from the tiny old woman over to you.** **

****You were not expecting it, and you were indeed still glaring at him, only this time he was looking right at you as you did it.** **

****His wide smile fell and was replaced by something else. Was that a smirk? Was he smirking at you now? Because he got the key to the store and you didn’t? He wasn’t even a better employee than you were, you sold sixteen hamsters this week! Sixteen! So what if he sold one stinking puppy. Puppies were cute. They practically sold themselves, all he had to do was hold the stupid thing next to his pretty face and the girls swooned double.** **

****Your sour expression held and when his eyes widened on you, holding the eye contact steady you saw the parting of his lips a second before the tip of his tongue darted out, pointed right at you, slipping back inside his mouth just as quickly as it appeared and you gasped at the audacity.** **

****You rolled your eyes hard. This was nothing. So he got the key to the store and Flo’s undying love it seemed; so what?** **

****“What’s wrong? Are you mad?” Chanyeol’s baritone broke through the rage coursing through your body and you snapped your eyebrows back up from the scowl, back into a less obvious position flat over your eyes that betrayed absolutely none of the unfairness you felt inside your heart.** **

****He had returned from his little chat with Flo to where you busied yourself with carefully cutting the tape that closed the box that held today’s shipment of feeder mice.** **

****“Mad? Why would I be mad?” You were definitely mad. You could hear it in your own voice as you spoke. It lingered just below the surface and you pulled against the lid of the box, struggling against the bit of strong tape that still held on one end.** **

****“Hey, you’re--” You flinched to feel the surprise of his fingertips brushing against your own and the box you fought with was pulled from your grip before you could process what had just happened, “--you’re shaking them too much. You’ll scare them.”** **

****Your now empty hands had a strange tingle that lingered for too long and you rubbed them together as you followed where he retreated, into the back of the pet store where the reptiles were caged.** **

****He was stationed in front of a stainless steel table with a box cutter carefully and slowly cutting the remaining tape as he peered his big eyes through the opening he had just made.** **

****There was always a softness in Chanyeol’s eyes when he looked at the animals. You didn't like it one bit. You hated the warmth that flowed through your belly every time you saw that look. It made you feel weak. It made you want to strengthen your defenses around the man. You knew by now that that softness always signaled trouble and the man simply could not afford to adopt yet another tiny thing to save it from being some other medium-sized thing’s lunch.** **

****Even he knew that releasing them into the wild would only get them eaten by some other wild thing. They weren't bred in the wild and had little skills for survival out there. Keeping them all wasn't an option either. If he kept this up he would be spending all of the money he earned at this job, taking care of the pets he adopted because of this job and this soft-hearted man and his plethora of babies would all be homeless together.** **

****“And you don't think they’ll be scared when they get fed--” Your words were cut off by a swift and very large hand placed over your mouth and you felt the involuntary heating of your skin just below the surface of your cheeks.** **

****He was close to you, right in front of your face now, dipping his head lower to get right into your line of vision and he held a serious air in his eyes and a finger to his lips.** **

****“Don’t you dare say it,” he whispered harshly and you took a step back, out of the close proximity and freeing yourself from the sticky warmth of his warm hand, “Don't you tell them that.”** **

****You rolled your eyes for what must have been the fourth time today. The man was hopeless. It was almost adorable. Almost.** **

****“Okay, Pepperoni and Peanut Butter, meet Elvis. Don't fight, there’s plenty of food for everybody.”** **

****Elvis was the last mouse left from yesterday’s batch and you sighed as you peered into the small tank at the two newest additions.** **

****“I told you to stop naming them, Chanyeol,” you said just under your breath, just quiet enough not to disturb the animals in the cage yet clearly loud enough for him to hear with as close to you as he stood, also peering in close to get a good look at the mice. You could feel the warmth of his body heat against your arm.** **

****“They practically name themselves. Look, Pepperoni has a pepperoni shaped spot on his butt and Peanut butter has a peanut-butter shaped spot on his butt.”** **

****Both of the mice indeed had spots on their backs near their tails, slightly darker in color than their pristine white fur, only you couldn't see any difference at all in the shape of the spots, no matter how hard you squinted at the little things that ran quickly around the cage, trying to find the exit of this strange new home they’d been dropped in to.** **

****The sound of the door chime made you give up and you spun to catch the face of the customer who had just arrived.** **

****It was a couple.** **

****And oh, they were in love.** **

****Or at least that was the image they were trying to advertise as they walked, clinging on to each other’s arms as if neither of them had enough strength in their legs to walk straight on their own. They paused at the puppies and shared a saccharine kiss that made you want to take your eyes away from the display with how long it went on.** **

****“Oh god,” Chanyeol groaned under his breath as he looked at the scene in front of the puppies who whined and pawed at the glass of their cages. The longer he watched them openly making out in a public place, the greener the skin of his face seemed to turn.** **

****When they finally pulled away from each other’s faces to gasp for breath you caught the side profile of Maria and your cells were all at once flooded with recognition and something else, something much more humiliating. Of course, it would be Maria.** **

****Maria, the girl in your bio lab, and the same girl who you had shared classes with for the last few semesters, who seemed to be in the exact same major as you were. The girl who unlike you, spent most of her time making out with a new boy every two weeks rather than doing her share of the work, as you had learned again and again during the various group projects you had been assigned to. More significant than her inability to be a good student, your memory flashed to the little white lie you had told her last week when she tried to convince you to go on a blind date with her cousin who she swore was just perfect for you due to his good grades, his love of Star Wars, and the cheesy jokes he practically made in his sleep. Whatever impression you had given her to make her believe that you would be interested in this person who, frankly, sounded like a giant nerd, you couldn't quite understand but you got out of it easy enough with an itty bitty, tiny, microscopic and harmless lie...that you already had a boyfriend.** **

****Of course, you didn't have a boyfriend. You’d never had a boyfriend in your whole life. Boys were...over there and you were stuck here at the back of the pet shop, or behind your computer doing school work, or at the back of a classroom hiding behind an open textbook, or stuck in the back room at your previous job shoveling ingredients into mixers while the cute, overly-friendly girls who smiled more worked the front counter at the shop. Where in the world would you have found a boyfriend when you never even got to interact with any cute b**** oys? All you had was Pepperoni and Peanut-Butter and the bumbling weirdo who named them.

****Maybe she wouldn't mention it. Or better yet, maybe she wouldn't look up from this boy’s tongue long enough to look into yours and recognize you. Maybe she would just turn around and leave without any sort of interaction at all.** **

****You would just stay in the back, looking at the mice and trying to figure out what a peanut butter shaped spot would look like to a weirdo with big floppy ears, big warm hands and fucking dimples in his cheeks when he smiled just right. Not that you were paying attention to that** ** ****dimple** ** ****and the way it made you feel inside when he jumped to action every time you came in the room with a request for him. You tried your best not to notice the eagerness to please this man seemed to have seeped from his every pore. It was almost working too.** **

****“Psstt--” you looked up from the mice at the noise whispered from somewhere around the corner, where the stacks of dog food rose high enough to hide whoever was hiding there, “---** ** ****psstt** ** ****,” the low voice said again and something in the timbre was easy to recognize as your only co-worker, who was somehow not at the front of the store helping the two lovebirds pick out the sweet puppy they would vow to raise together for the rest of their lives. Until they broke up a week later and he came back to return the adorable animal to the pet store with a crumpled receipt and an even more crumpled expression in his eyes. ‘My landlord says I can't have a dog,’ he would lie and you would nod and politely ignore the tears that welled in his eyes as you took the dog back with a forced friendly smile. It would be within the return window, of course.** **

****“Chanyeol, what--” His usual tall stature was bent in half as he tried to hide from the couple that wandered through the store, but the look of panic in his eyes stopped you from prodding him for answers. He hunched and crouched and peered around the corners and the red tint of his ears and the tremble in his hands softened your heart some. Enough to take a step within his hiding spot to hear him out.** **

****“Can you go help them this time?” He was whispering and blinking fast, biting on the flesh of his bottom lip and wringing his hands together to calm some of the nerves that were obviously flooding his body.** **

****“P-Please?” Ugh, was he actually trembling now?** **

****“What? Why?” It wasn’t that you didn't want to help a customer. You just didn't exactly want to face Maria right now. She would probably sniff out your lie like a drug dog and call the proper authorities to thoroughly humiliate you for being the huge single loser and liar that you were.** **

****“R-Remember that night...The night you and I--” his lips pulled into a grimace as he looked into your face and you wondered if he could see the exact moment that your soul left your body. You sure felt it. It was when you realized that yes, he remembered making out with you in the back of that darkened club and no you hadn't just imagined that it happened, but it was just as real as you remembered it was. He was a witness to it. Hell, you could still remember the exact way his hand cupped your right breast as you teased him over his jeans. Of course, you remembered it clearly. The scene liked to replay itself in your mind’s memory nearly nightly for a month since you discovered who your new co-worker would be.** **

****“I don't know what you are talking about, Chanyeol.” It was a gut reaction to lie. When had you stooped this low? When had your life completely veered out of control like this?** **

****“What? Come on. We made out for like an hour and you** ** ****even t** ** ****-touched--” even he couldn't say it. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath that made too much noise on the exhale. You instinctively looked around the corner. They had moved to the birds and his hand was shoved deep into her back pocket as they walked, and her’s was stuck deep in his back pocket. They remained steadily glued together like a pair of trees that had grown into one; trunks wound around each other as they occupied the same space over the years.** **

****“I doubt it was an hour.” You grumbled and he lifted a finger to point at your face** ** ****in** ** ****accusation. “Fine, what about it?” you relented and his shoulders sagged in defeat.** **

****“That’s the girl,” he said and the pout on his lips was distracting. The memory in your mind was of the softness of those lips and the insane compatibility you felt while kissing him that night. Was it just you? Chanyeol had said so himself that night, you weren’t his type. You weren’t that sort of confident, supremely hot demanding woman that chewed men up and spit them out like Maria was.** **

****“Maria is the girl you were crying about?” your voice was a low whisper but somehow saying her name out-loud made you feel guilty enough to look over your shoulder anyway.** **

****“Excuse me, I was not crying.” his shoulders straightened with the indignation, high enough for the top of his head to peek out from behind the wall of dog food bags and you grabbed his hand to pull him back down before he was seen cowering. You felt him stiffen a bit before he moved down to where you pulled. “I never cried,” he whispered against your face which you hadn't even realized was this close until he shifted to face you head on. “She was-- she was nothing really.” He inhaled through his nostrils and broke the eye contact with you for a moment and you tried to keep your mind from dwelling on the warmth of his hand that was still on your own.** **

****“I never even kissed her you know. It was just a stupid … maybe. But she blew me off for my friend who was richer because he had a car,” the confession that tumbled from his parted lips was quiet, and you were sure was the source of the blush that you could see tinting his cheeks and those ridiculous ears. He was embarrassed and you couldn't keep your eyes off those pink cheeks as he spoke. You refused to look at his lips, and his eyes, well...that was a bit much with how close you were to him right now. You could smell the clean scent of his cologne. It was mild enough to not give you a headache, thank God.** **

****“A maybe?” your own voice had given up on the whisper and when you spoke his eyes moved up your face from your lips to your eyes to face your inquiry.** **

****There was a pause from him. You felt it in the air. It took his response from his mouth and your mind was scrambling to make sense of this strange feeling that seemed to make the air around your head pulse. It made your head feel unstable the more you tried to piece together what you knew about Park Chanyeol. What you knew, was he certainly had not just been looking at your lips, not in the way that people sometimes looked at lips with ulterior motives other than just watching someone speak. What you knew was that while the kiss had been amazing enough for him to confess to wanting to do it again and again, that had just been the alcohol talking. He didn't like you like that. You weren't his type. Girls like Maria, the bitch (his words) had been his type before, he had said so himself. And you were….not that. You were...what were you to him?** **

****“Isn’t there anyone working in this store? Hello?” A shrill female voice broke the silence and you took a step back, instantly dropping Chanyeol’s hand. You stumbled and your shoulder bumped against a display of organic dog vitamins, sending the bottles falling and clattering on the floor.** **

****All at once, the eyes of the couple were on you and Chanyeol took four or five huge steps back away from the crime scene.** **

****“There you are,” Maria said with a definite attitude on her tongue and she rolled her eyes wide enough for you to see from way over here where you scrambled to reshelve the bottles. “We need some help with the fishes,” she said as she swiftly turned on her heels and headed back to where her boy of the season stood** ** ****tapping** ** ****against the glass at the goldfish right below the sign that specifically told him not to do such a thing. They swam around and jumped with each new hit against the glass.** **

****“Please don't tap,” you said in your most polite voice and he turned his face to you with a wince on his face, “it stresses them out and then they die.”** **

****“Oh my god, don't kill them, baby.” Maria cooed and reached for the offending hand. Maybe this was why they had been joined at the hip. Perhaps this man was not to be trusted on his own. He definitely had the kind of ultra handsome face that wasn't usually found on the most responsible of men. This man was handsome enough to be a trophy husband some day and you instantly felt the impact of the bright smile he flashed at you.** **

****“We’re getting couple fish,” She said proudly and looked into your face for half a second before her smile widened and familiarity flashed over her features. “Oh!” she swayed into him and he rocked on his heels with the impact, “Oh baby -- baby, this--” she was now tapping excitedly against your arm with the widest of smiles on her face and his eyebrows rose in genuine curiosity now, “this is the friend I was telling you about...remember?”** **

****Those wide brown eyes roamed over your face and further, around the store, not seeing anything as he desperately tried to remember which friend she had been telling him about.** **

****“Uhh, the one that is sleeping with her boss or the one that was lying about having a boyfriend?” He was trying. He sure was and the loud cackling laugh that came from Maria in some attempt to cover the slip definitely confused him even more about who exactly she was introducing him to.** **

****You could feel your own humiliation bubbling up to the surface. It actually burned against your skin and you awkwardly rubbed your hands over your arms to cool them off some.** **

****“No no, I never said anything like that. Remember the girl that I was trying to get to date my cousin Junmyeon?” Maria was nodding her head well into his vision in an obvious attempt to get the man to play along now with her version of the story.** **

****“Yeah, yeah that’s the one you said was lying about having a boyfriend. Remember you said she was too well behaved. Thought she was better than you….that’s why you were trying to set her up with Junmyeon because he was also a nerd and maybe two nerds together would actually work out and you could get both of them off your back about school work?”** **

****“Baekhyun.” Maria’s voice had changed and he stopped the rambling and looked into the face of the woman he had very much displeased. “I never said anything like that.” Her jaw was clenched hard and she shot daggers straight at his pretty face that finally lost the airy smile he had been so easily displaying since they walked into this store.** **

****“Uhh--” he scrambled now, finally understanding the mistake he had made. “Actually...you didn’t?” there was an upward inflection in his voice and he looked into Maria’s face with his question.** **

****“You didn’t,” he said again, shaking his head back and forth with a pout on his lips now. And wow, you felt that pout. You felt it hit you hard and you turned to look at Maria who relaxed her jaw some and blinked away some of the anger with a deep sigh. She felt the pout too. He had a few very powerful weapons in his arsenal.** **

****“I’m sorry baby, don't be mad at me,” he whispered under his breath and his fingertips slipped over the back of her hand that was securely tucked away from him now as she stood facing the fish with what was left of her mood still forced onto her face. He pivoted and moved further into her line of sight and she stomped her feet three times quickly avoiding his face.** **

****He made a sound. It was a tiny whine and you wanted to force the girl to give in to him and forgive him already. The mini tantrum he threw was impossible to resist. Even for a casual bystander.** **

****“I really do have a boyfriend you know,” you said with a lift of your head and your crossed fingers securely hidden behind your back to cover the lie. That worked right? Karma and all would forgive you this time.** **

****You said it loud enough to bring the attention back to yourself and finally, the adorable man dropped the hurt look from his face enough for Maria to remember that you still existed here in this reality and she had yet to pick out the couple fish that she had originally called you over for.** **

****“Oh my god, really?” she said, the smile back on her face appeared again just as easily as it had left and she turned her focus away from her boyfriend and on to you.** **

****“You have to let me meet him,” she urged with wide eyes and her hands** ** ****were** ** ****gripping your own two hands as she shook and jumped in excitement. You quickly uncrossed your fingers before she could notice and you nodded your head as earnestly as you could.** **

****“I’m Baekhyun, by the way,” You heard his voice break through the squeals and Maria turned to look down at the outstretched hand Baekhyun held out for you to accept. She reluctantly let you go and you shook his hand for a moment. “Baby, why don't we invite your friend and her boyfriend to the couples-only Valentine’s Day party tonight?”** **

****“Oh my god, yes! You have to come! Both of you. Promise me, you will. I will text you the address.” She already had her phone out, well before you even realized what was happening and you felt the buzz in your back pocket where your phone sat on vibrate, waiting for you to resume your lonely swiping left as you rejected every single man who showed any interest in you in that stupid dating app you had curiously installed on a whim. You honestly rarely used your phone for much else. It wasn’t like you had a boyfriend to call or text...well except for...** **

****They had all been just wrong. All of the men in that app. Okay so there was one,...just one guy you met on there that even remotely interested you, but most of the chatting you had done with him was kept anonymous. His username was Nick_Wilde or something like that, but you were pretty sure it was a pseudonym of some type. You wouldn't have even agreed to accept his friend request had it not been for the adorable puppy pictures that always covered his face in every single picture he had posted of himself. What could you say...the guy was funny at least and the puppies were adorable. Just how many puppies did the guy have anyway? You had a sudden urge to complain to him about what a shitty day today was working itself out to be. You would certainly blur a bit of the** ** ****details** ** ****to make yourself look just a bit cooler than you were in this situation...but he would certainly find the bright side like he always did.** **

****When you complained about the drunken kiss turned co-worker and he repeatedly asked where exactly your new job was, you found it a bit suspicious how interested he was in the details. You stuck to your story of starting a job in a coffee shop to get him off your back. The last thing you needed was some stranger from the internet that you maybe kinda sorta flirted with on and off finding you in real life and murdering you. People from the internet were crazy. They were not to be trusted. No matter how adorable the puppies were. For all you knew, he was a psycho stalker just waiting for a victim. You definitely never used your own face in the pictures, opting instead for vague full body shots stationed in various parts of the city. Nowhere you frequented regularly….you didn't need to tip them off on your location.** **

****Not that he didn't ask. Nick_Wilde was always hinting at wanting more from you. Wanting to go for coffee or for a movie together. Asking you why you never told him your name or asked for his. Your response was always that you liked things just the way they were with him and you didn't want to risk losing that friendship you both shared.** **

****Of course, there was one slip. The stupid app had a call function and while you never ever used it, you did hit it accidentally one evening after having a bit too much to drink.** **

****You disconnected the call as soon as you heard the low ‘hello?’ ring out into your ear and your hands trembled to turn off the phone entirely for the entire night.** **

****He didn't mention it the next day and you, of course, did not either. It never happened again.** **

****“Yes! Definitely, we would love to come tonight.” You would definitely not come tonight. There was no way. You would feign a broken leg. Or a broken arm. Or appendicitis. Or your boyfriend would suddenly be called away to work, or have a flat tire, or he could fall into a coma.** **

****You would figure it out.** **

****“Are you sure you have a boyfriend? If you don't come with him tonight, I’m sending Junmyeon here** tomorrow **to ask you out.” You definitely didn't want that. “And don't say you had appendicitis or he was in a coma. You can’t use that excuse again.”****

****“Although I kinda sorta can’t wait to find out you were totally lying about having a boyfriend.” she was giggling to herself now and you tried your best not to react in a way that would give you away. “It’s just your style really.”** **

****There was a definite venom in her voice as she spoke and you found that you couldn't keep the eye contact with her anymore. Not with her sneering at you like that. Her bared teeth looked less like a smile and more like a threat, ready to chomp you up and spit you out and you could feel a tremble in your arms as you shivered against the cold of the store. Chanyeol seemed to run hot and always liked to turn the thermostat down too low for your comfort.** **

****The shivering suddenly stopped when a blinding heat cascaded over your back and shoulder. Someone was behind you, rubbing big hot hands over your arm. The goosebumps left your skin with the heat and another arm, slipped around your other shoulder, joining in the front with the other in what you looked down to see was a very definite back hug. The arms were big. There was a familiar scent, the cologne that had filled your nostrils moments earlier as he cowered behind the stacks of dog food bags and begged you to rescue him from the witch that was now casting her vile spells on you instead.** **

****With the back hug and the warmth came a different sensation as soft lips reached the skin of your burning cheek and placed a delicate kiss on your flesh.** **

****“Hey baby, did you need some help over here?” Chanyeol’s deep voice, spoken directly into your ear, spread a new kind of heat down your neck with the intimate way he held onto you. “Do they want some of the fish on the top rows? I can get them for you if you can’t reach.”** **

****“Whoa....so cool,” Baekhyun’s voice brought you back to reality and the bright smile was back, only this time directed toward the taller man who squeezed down tightly around your shoulders, ignoring the squirming as you tried to free yourself.** **

****“--you were just accusing her of lying and here he comes sweeping in with a smooth ass kiss and a hug...wow, and he’s so tall too.” Baekhyun’s smile was wide and his eyes were even wider as he looked on in wonder. You didn’t miss how quiet Maria had gone with Chanyeol’s sudden arrival. She had no trace of the brightness that Baekhyun had on his face.** **

****“--and handsome! Wow!” he now held a thumbs up in front of his chest, wincing the instant Maria’s rough fingers slapped it down with a grumble of complaints.** **

****“I changed my mind about the fish,” she said abruptly as she grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and began to pull him away from the display of fish tanks, “let's go get couple shoes instead.”** **

****“Don't forget about tonight!” Baekhyun called behind as he was pulled out of the store and the warmth of Chanyeol’s arms vanished the second the door chimed sang out of their departure.** **

****“Did you see her face?” The deafening laughter began behind you and you turned to look up into Chanyeol’s highly amused face with a bit of embarrassed horror on yours.** **

****“Why did you do that?” Your complaints were drowned out by the noisy laughter that was evolving from merely an annoying sound into him falling into the wall of fish tanks and making them all jump around in surprise at the sudden impact.** **

****“Chanyeol,” he was too preoccupied with his own amusement to listen to a single concern you had about this mess and you found yourself growing more and more frustrated with the man.** **

****How would you ever face her again? She knew Chanyeol. He said so himself, she knew who he was and she definitely knew the kind of girl he went for and there was never any way she would believe that you and Chanyeol were actually dating. There was no way he would even agree to play along with your little lie for the party tonight.** **

****And now that she had seen exactly who you claimed to be in a relationship with, there was also no way you would be able to pay some poor sucker to play your boyfriend just for the evening. Nope. None of that mattered now because he had already ruined everything. You knew you had at least two more projects coming up for your bio lab and what if she was assigned to your group again? How would you possibly get through this?** **

****Maybe you could say you broke up? Maybe he couldn't make it tonight because of a previous family engagement. What if you hit him upside the head with your fish scoop and he fell into a coma?** **

****“Oh come on, it was funny,” his laughter had winded down by now and he wiped at his eye with the back of his hand. You fumed as you wracked your brain trying to come up with a solid plan to fix this.** **

****“Besides, now your little problem is fixed. She believed it. I could tell,” he said with a shrug as he turned to grab the push broom that he had been leaned up against the wall an hour ago.** **

****“How is it fixed? It’s not fixed at all, Chanyeol.” Your hands were fisted at your sides as your tone lifted with the frustration you felt in your belly. Everything about this merely shifted the problem from Maria to him. You knew when someone was teasing you. You knew when someone was making fun of you and having a laugh at your expense and that's exactly what he was doing right now. The poor pathetic girl without any romantic prospects or anything at all that resembled a social life. He’d play along and tease you about it for his own amusement and you'd be left feeling even more shitty about yourself than you had when Maria was your only problem.** **

****“Listen, she was being mean to you. She’s a bully and she’s a jerk and I couldn't just stand there and watch you fucking take it like that. Why don't you ever fight back? You’re so preoccupied with what everyone else is thinking that you never stop to think that maybe they don't fucking matter. What she thinks doesn’t even matter. I was trying to be nice and help. I didn't realize that my help would be so fucking sickening to you.” His temper surprised you and the red of his face as his voice rose made his eyes pop open and his breathing rage within his chest. He gripped the handle of the broom roughly and stopped faking at sweeping the floor long enough to get his piece said before he roughly tossed the whole thing back against the wall that it had been leaning on and turned to storm away from you.** **

****“Maybe what I don't want is your pity, Park Chanyeol. I don't want you lying** ** ****for** ** ****me and your fucking fake kisses or your fake bullshit company. And I sure as fuck don't want you laughing at me.” He made no response to slow his steps as he walked around a corner and out your line of sight. From the sounds he was making in the back you could tell he was overfeeding the fish out of anger and you groaned at the idea of having to go back there and scoop out the extra food later so nobody died.** **

****He ignored you for the rest of the day and you ignored him.** **

****15 minutes to closing, a customer walked in, headed for the back reptile section and you lingered just in case he needed any assistance. Your heart sunk when he inquired about one of the feeder mice for his pet python at home and you suggested maybe a discount hamster that had been acting rather sick lately.** **

****It was a no go and as you reached into the tank to blindly grab at whichever unfortunate mouse moved slow enough for you to catch. You didn't look as you bagged it up and charged the customer and you tried not to pay attention to the sound of soft sniffling you heard coming from the back room.** **

****Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.** **

****Fucking Park Chanyeol and his soft heart and fuck naming feeder mice and getting attached to them. They were only ever sold as food. He had to stop this if he wanted to keep working at a pet store. Pet snakes had to eat too!** **

****You felt like a monster.** **

****First, you’d yelled at him and made him feel bad about coming to your rescue when you genuinely needed the help, despite how misguided his help had actually been, his intentions had been good. You knew this deep down inside.** **

****Ugh, and second...second you sold one of his mice to a snake owner. You didn't even know which mouse it had been.** **

****You slowly made your way up the long hallway that lead to the front doors and flipped the open sign off, locking the deadbolts so no one else could come inside. You then turned off the signs at the front of the store and made it back to the center cash registers as your ears tuned in to listen for more signs of distress. Sobbing maybe. Dramatic weeping. Things being thrown perhaps.** **

****But it was quiet from what you could hear and you felt a faint buzzing in your pocket.** **

****05:01PM - Nick_Wilde: please tell me today is over, are you still at work?** **

****05:01PM - violetsareblue:** ** ****im** ** ****closing up now. I just had the worst day ever.** **

****05:01PM - Nick_Wilde: D: oh** ** ****nooooo** ** ****, not you too. my day was poop.** **

****05:01PM - Nick_Wilde: what happened to you today?** **

****05:02PM - violetsareblue: i** ** ****kiiiiiiiinda** ** ****don't wanna talk about it. It’s really embarrassing i wanna die a thousand times.** **

****05:02PM - Nick_Wilde: you’ll feel better if you tell me about it. you always do love. What happened? do i need to beat someone up for you?** **

****05:02PM - violetsareblue: ha ha ha. No nothing like that. I just...did something dumb. Got caught in a lie and then my co-worker, you know the one i told you about..** **

****05:02PM - Nick_Wilde: drunken make out jerk? like I could forget.i bet he smells like feet.** **

****05:02PM - violetsareblue: he smells nice actually.** **

****05:02PM - Nick_Wilde: don't tell me that. He smells like feet i know it.** **

****05:03PM - violetsareblue: okay he smells like feet. Well i got caught in this lie and he bailed me out. but i overreacted and i think i hurt his feelings. Then i did something really shitty and** ** ****im** ** ****just sitting here, NOT counting my register, just feeling like shit.** **

****05:03PM - violetsareblue: …** ** ****i** **hope** **hes** **not too upset. I mean** **i** ** ****really did something terrible…** **

****05:03PM - violetsareblue: …** **

****05:04PM** **\- violetsareblue: well don't like...comfort me or anything…** **

****05:04PM - violetsareblue: … Nick? Ar you still there?** **

****05:05PM - Nick_Wilde: violet are you sure you work at a coffee shop? You aren’t lying to me about that are** **you?** **

****05:05PM - violetsareblue: of course i do. Ill even tell you the name of it if you want. Just promise me you wont** **come and murder me tonight.** **

****05:05PM - Nick_Wilde: youll** **tell me the name? Of your coffee shop????!!! JKFLKJDCFGJKL omg suddenly my day just got phenomenally better** **

****05:05PM - violetsareblue: settle down you want it too bad what if i** **change my mind?** **

****05:05PM - Nick_Wilde: nooooooooo don't change your mind please please please baby tell me. I promise iwont murder you. Youre like my favorite sweet sugarplum fairy who lives inside my phone everrrrrr** **

****05:05PM** **\- violetsareblue: that sounds like something a murderer would say** **

****05:06PM - Nick_Wilde: DDD: …. youre right. A murderer would say that. But im not one I swear im just an innocent little dog lover who sometimes sends you songs that i recorded when I was drunk that one time and i** **may or may not have recorded like twelve of them and i really like my drunk singing voice so ill probably send you more if you want to listen...what were we talking about?** **

****05:06PM - Nick_Wilde: YOUR COFFEES HOP** **!! Tell me the name! Pleaseeeeeeee???** **

****05:06PM - violetsareblue: are you sure youre ready to know thi svaluable** **piece of information?** **

****05:07PM - Nick_Wilde: i** **am literally half hard just thinking about it** **

****05:07PM** **\- violetsareblue: why is everything always about your dick?** **

****05:07PM - Nick_Wilde: excuse you pervert i was talking about my heart. You make my heart nut every time i** **talk to you. You should see a therapist for your sex addiction you know. Its getting out of hang** **

****05:07PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: hand*** **

****05:07PM - violetsareblue: anyway, the name of my coffee shoppe** **is….** **

****05:07PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: yes? Yessss??? YESSSSS????** **

****05:07PM - violetsareblue: *dun dun** **duuuunnnnnn** ***** **

****05:08PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: don't you do the dun dun dun after you drop the bomb?** **

****05:08PM** **\- violetsareblue: do you want to know or not** **

****05:08PM - Nick_Wilde: yes i do im sorry i love you and only you, you are the love of my life forever and ever amen please go on. Do your dun dun** **duns again.** **

****05:08PM - violetsareblue: ……** **

****05:08PM - violetsareblue: ……….** **

****05:08PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: you are actually killing me right now** **

****05:08PM - violetsareblue: *cough*** **starbucks** ***ahem*** **

****05:09PM - Nick_Wilde: …..** **

****05:09PM - violetsareblue: :)** **

****05:10PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: …..** **

****05:10PM - Nick_Wilde: ….. i mean… theres** **a million of them. I don't even…** **

****05:10PM - Nick_Wilde: i don't even know what i** **expected.** **

****05:10PM - violetsareblue: :)** **

****05:10PM - Nick_Wilde: i** **don't suppose you would be willing to tell me the address would you? Store number? One of the streets? Neighborhood? Longitude and Attitude???** **

****05:10PM - violetsareblue: :)** **

****05:10PM - Nick_Wilde: …..okay i just googled and there are between 350-400 starbucks** **in this city alone WHAT? Who needs that much coffee?!** **

****05:10PM - violetsareblue: :)** **

****05:11PM - Nick_Wilde: okay okay i give up. I know i cant win when you’re like this.** **

****05:11PM - Nick_Wilde: so….what was it?** **

****05:11PM - violetsareblue: what was what Nicky??** **

****05:11PM - Nick_Wilde: call me nick i am a man not a boy.** **

****05:11PM - Nick_Wilde: What was the lie you got caught in?** **

****05:11PM - violetsareblue: oh i said i had something when i really don't. Never have honestly.** **

****05:12PM - Nick_Wilde:....something you said you had but don't? Something like cancer or ….wait a minute...something like ..** **

****05:12PM - Nick_Wilde: it wasn't a boyfriend was it?** **

****05:12PM - Nick_Wilde: cause that’s…..i just gave myself goosebumps** **

****05:12PM - violetsareblue: my boss just walke dthrough the front door i gotta go byeeeeeeeee** **

****You exited out of the app feeling the full effects of your racing heart inside your chest making your thinking go all fuzzy and a sound from the back room caught your attention. How he had so completely and accurately guessed your lie was a mystery to you but you definitely did not like the truth he had magically touched upon. In fact it made your palms sweaty and the hairs on the back of your neck prickle just thinking about it. You quickly locked your phone and shoved it inside your back pocket as you made quick work of laying out the stacks of bills as you counted the register.** **

****The sudden noise was Chanyeol and he emerged with eyes still red from what you were certain had been his crying about the feeder mouse you sold, yet wide expecting eyes on the front door of the store.** **

****“Is Flo here?” He said, watching the dark and motionless locked door at the front of the store.** **

****“Nope. It’s just us closing tonight, remember?” His eyes moved to where you sat counting the money in your register and comparing the totals against the amount in the computer system.** **

****He watched you silently as you counted twice and compared twice, making sure that every cent was accounted for before you sealed up the money in the pouch to put in the safe in the back office.** **

****“Are you just doing that now? I mean it never takes this long to close the register did you start doing that just now or were you doing something else?”** **

****You weren’t sure what his sudden interest was about, but you knew that phones were not allowed during business hours in the store. They were a distraction and Flo allowed you both to keep them on your person for emergency reasons but texting before closing the register was usually frowned upon.** **

****“I was cleaning up a bit. You never finished sweeping the floor.” You lied. It came easy at this point and his mouth opened once and closed again as he looked behind him at the floor of the store.** **

****While it wasn't spotless and you definitely had not swept up for him, it wasn't dirty enough to be obvious that you were lying.** **

****“Oh, I guess I didn't finish it, did I?” He was looking** **behind** **himself again, glancing toward the door and again at the floor around him when you stood and spun on your heels, ready to leave this awkward situation in a hurry. You held the bag of cash in one hand and fully intended to make your way past your co-worker as stealthily as you could manage before he asked any more questions about what you had been doing up here.** **

****You’d made it three steps when you felt the warmth of his fingertips wrap around the open palm of your empty hand.** **

****The contact stopped you in your tracks and you froze, expecting some invisible bomb to drop around you and bring the building crumbling down over your head.** **

****He didn't say anything at first and the touch of his** **hand held** **your own with such a burning heat that you were certain your own body temperature had risen by two degrees just from the contact.** **

****“A-About today—“ he began and you spun around to face him and to face this mess you had made. “I’m really sorry,” he said and you winced hearing the words from his lips.** **

****Your chat with Nick earlier had made you see the error in your own ways...the overreaction and the inability to see when someone was just trying to help you out when you needed it. You were shaking your head before he could say another word.** **

****“No, Chanyeol, I’m sorry. I was an asshole to you and all you were doing was trying to help me. I’m sorry I yelled at you and I’m sorry that I sold—“** **

****You closed your mouth, not because you couldn't finish your apology but because you honestly didn't know which** **mouse** **it was that was sold today. The shake of your head loosened some sniffles in your nose brought on by the sudden wave of guilt at what you had done and he tightened the grip of his hand around yours.** **

****“Elvis,” he whispered with a pout on his lips and you tilted your head with a wince. “Dammit, was it Elvis?”** **

****“You really gotta stop naming them, Yeollie.” The nagging wasn't harsh or demanding. The nickname came out of your lips naturally and you caught the straightening of his shoulders and a slight lift of his chin when he heard it.** **

****“I really gotta stop naming them,” he said with a small smile on his lips and a ragged inhale of air deep into his lungs.** **

****“So what will you do about tonight? Do you want me to—“ you could see the wheels turning in his head and you shook your head again. First of all, this man had no business involving himself in your lies, and second, the last thing you wanted was to give him more material for his jokes. And you knew, no matter how good his intentions were, there would always be jokes with Park Chanyeol.** **

****“Nah, I’m just not going to go tonight. I won't play along with her games. She would just find something else to torture me over if I gave in. Might as well stick with something I’m used to being tortured over. Thanks anyway, Chanyeol, I mean it.”** **

****And you did and the look in his eyes told you that he accepted your apology.** **

****05:33PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: is it just me, or does a drink sound pretty good right now?** **

****05:33PM - Nick_Wilde: alas i am alone tonight. My plans fell through….although i guess they weren’t really plans** **to begin with. What about you? Do you have any plans tonight?** **

****05:42PM - violetsareblue : plans? What are those? Never heard of them. I just walked through my door and stepped on my cat’s tail. :(** **i feeel awful now. Awfuler. More awful than i** **already felt today. What a stupid day!** **

****05:42PM** **\- violetsareblue: you know what? Yes. A drink does sound really really good right now.** **

****05:43PM** **\- violetsareblue: nick?** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: did you fall asleep? Did you have a very hard day? You never even told me what happened to you today. You can tell me you know. I love listening to the adventures of the cute girl who has no idea she is cute at work. In my mind** **she looks a lot like me. Is that weird?** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: its totally weird isnt it? Pretend i** **didn't say that.** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: why isnt** **there a delete in this stupid app** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: what if i** **just keep talking so the message gets lost** **

****05:44PM** **\- violetsareblue: blah blah blah** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: nick is sweet, nick is cute , nick sings nice and i** **bet he smells nice too** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: i wish I could go out for a drink with nick but im** **too chicken to ask him** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: i** **wonder what he would even say** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: he doesnt even know what i** **look like** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: he doesnt even know what i** **sound like** **

****05:44PM** **\- violetsareblue: all he knows are these silly words** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: i** **bet we would talk all night long about everything awesome** **

****05:44PM - violetsareblue: omg where are you when will you come back already jeeeeeeeez** **you suck** **

****05:44PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES** **

****05:44PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES** **

****05:44PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES YES YES YES OMGYES** **

****05:45PM** **\- violetsareblue: what?** **

****05:45PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES** **

****05:45PM** **\- violetsareblue: wait, what?** **

****05:45PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES I WILL HAVE A DRINK WITH YOU** **

****05:45PM** **\- violetsareblue: wait, nick, wait** **

****05:45PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: YES HAVE A DRINK WITH ME** **

****05:45PM - violetsareblue: wait stop i take it back i didn't mean it. I never meant it i** **take it BACKKKKK WHYYYYY are you back NOW?! Of all times** **

****05:45PM - Nick_Wilde: YES IN REAL LIFE MEET ME FOR A DRINK YOU LREADY** **ASKED ME YOU CANT TAKE IT BACK NOW ITS UP THERE IN THE CHAT LOGS SCROLL UP** **

****05:45PM - Nick_Wilde: omg im going to go up and read it again. I cant believe you just asked me out. My hands are shaking i cant scroll hold on. Oh its because im typing, i** **cant scroll and type at the same time omg** **

****05:46PM - violetsareblue: ...** **

****05:46PM - violetsareblue: sweetjesus what have i** **done** **

****05:46PM - Nick_Wilde: you just asked me out thats** **what you have done** **

****05:46PM - Nick_Wilde: now….where should we meet? Are you in closer to the north side of the city? Im on the north side. But if youre south , or east or west i don't care ill come to you so you don't have to take the subway or the bus very far. Plus its dark, its** **not very safe if you go far. Do you have mace? Or a whistle in case there is trouble?** **

****05:46PM - Nick_Wilde: forget going far at all. You just pick the closest bar/restaurant anything like that nearest to you...seriously no further than five minutes walking at MOST and i will go there. I don't want you out at night omg am i being weird? Im being weird arent** **I?** **

****05:47PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: violet? Ar you still there?** **

****05:47PM - violetsareblue: uhh…. yeah. :|||||||| im** **here.** **

****05:47PM - violetsareblue: im** **actually uhh….also on the north side of the city.** **

****05:48PM - Nick_Wilde: omg really?! Do you know the bar called Pippos? The sign has a big purple hippo on it just to fuck with people, but its** **not called Hippos its called Pippos.** **

****05:48PM - violetsareblue: the hippo’s name is Pippo nick. Thats** **why its called Pippo the hippo bar. Not Pippos** **

****05:48PM - Nick_Wilde: D: WHAAAAAAT?!** **

****05:48PM - Nick_Wilde: no i don't believe you. The sign doesnt say the word hippo anywhere on it at all. Not even on the menus, which YES i have seen the menu they have exactly ONE copy of it and i** **have seen it with my own two eyeballs.** **

****05:48PM** **\- Nick_Wilde: meet me at Pippos in an hour and we will fight about this in person!** **

****05:48PM** **\- violetsareblue: omg fine but you are wrong. Pippo the Hippo is definitely in the name of the bar.** **

****05:49PM - Nick_Wilde: i’ll be wearing a dark blue jacket with black pants. Uhh, ill have a white stripey shirt too. Also im very toll. Ill change** **your lightbulbs for you if you want.** **

****05:49PM - violetsareblue: ill wear black like my soul. Okay a pink sweater over the black so you can tell its** **me. Also ill be the one wetting myself from nerves. That’ll be a big giveaway.** **

****05:49PM - Nick_Wilde: ill look for the puddle of piss then** **

****05:49PM - violetsareblue: ...what if you don't like me?** **

****05:49PM - Nick_Wilde: i already like you.** **

****05:49PM - violetsareblue: …** **

****05:49PM - Nick_Wilde: ...** **

****05:59PM - Nick_Wilde: you better not stand me up or i will never speak to you ever again. EVER. NEVER EVER.** **

****06:00PM - Nick_Wilde: also don't get murdered on the way to pippos** **


	2. Chapter 2

**Never in your life had the handle of a door felt more terrifying to touch than right at this moment. You had been standing in front of the bar for five whole minutes, just staring at it; momentarily stepping aside when some couple behind you wanted to go in, you resumed your post in front of the door, threatening to open it several times yet failing to have your hand make any actual physical contact with the big black handle.**

**He was probably already inside waiting.**

**You could just run away. You could go back home, delete the app you talked to him several times a day on and then...never speak to him again. Sure, you had grown very used to the inside jokes you had with him, the laughs, the deep down emotions you even shared with each other, the fact that you thought the idiot you worked with was far too handsome to ever really be interested in you, which was really part of the reason why his stupid face annoyed you so much. Nick_Wilde knew it all.**

**You knew more about him than you knew about any of your closest friends. You knew that he picked his screen name because of a stupid cartoon character that he thought was super cool, and how he wished he could be that cool someday but he knew he was too soft inside. He tried to put up a cool exterior and worked very hard at that but would often find himself too affected by the struggles and the pain of others. You knew that he got headaches sometimes from the pollution in the city, and when it got really bad he had trouble breathing because of his asthma. When the smog would lay thick and heavy over the tops of the buildings you always texted him to be sure he brought his inhaler along, just in case. He told you, you worried too much and that he felt fine today, but you knew he was just trying to sound cooler to you.**

**You remembered the day he found a wad of cash on the ground of the parking lot near his home and how conflicted he felt when you mentioned just keeping it. In fact, the idea never even really crossed his mind. So instead, you helped him to design a poster to hang for the owner to call and you could hear the elation in his words when he told you the sweet old lady from down the hall called him up shaking because she had lost her rent money. You were pretty sure he said he cried when she left after hugging him tightly and calling him a good boy. He said she reminded him of his grandmother who had passed away the year before.**

**And he was. He was a good person. You knew this. He wasn't the kind of person who would find you at your place of employment and murder you. Why were you like this? Why were you so hesitant to let anyone really get close to you? Why were you even considering turning around and leaving that bar when you knew, your best friend was on the other side of the door, probably just as nervous as you were to meet for the first time.**

**You were lost well within the maze of memories when the buzz of your phone in your pocket pulled you back into reality. Not only had you not gone inside the bar yet, but it was now, according to the clock on your screen, nearly 7pm. 15 minutes after you had told him you would meet him inside. 15 minutes of you standing out here, your own two legs taking steps backward instead of forwards and 15 minutes of sweating through your damn underwear at the very idea of stepping one foot inside that place.**

**Why didn't they sell alcohol outside on the street? You could go for a shot of something...anything at all that might give you the courage to open that door.**

**06:59PM - Nick_Wilde: If you are standing outside thinking about running away, please don't. I’ve been camped out at a booth in the very back for a half hour and people keep giving me dirty looks for sitting alone at a table designed for four people.**

**06:59PM - Nick_Wilde: pretty sure the waiter is about to kick me out.**

**06:59PM - Nick_Wilde: also i have to pee**

**06:59PM - Nick_Wilde: if you take any longer to get here, the one in the puddle of piss will not be you**

**06:59PM - violetsareblue: i’m freaking out**

**06:59PM - Nick_Wilde: come inside so we can freak out together**

**06:59PM - violetsareblue: i think im going to vomit, i cant even open the door**

**07:00PM - Nick_Wilde: i will hold your hair**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: okay**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: :LKSJLLJKHLKJSFL**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: okay**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: i can do this**

**07:00PM - Nick_Wilde: you can do this**

**07:00PM - Nick_Wilde: jus open the door**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: but its so far away now. Ive been walking backwards. Okay ill go forward now. Im….i can do this**

**07:00PM - violetsareblue: i can open the door. and i can go inside and meet Nick and he will be like ‘omg hi im nick’ and ill be like ‘omg *vomits all over the floor*’ and he will be like “......omg” and maybe ill get hit by a truck**

**07:01PM - Nick_Wilde: there are so many trucks in here**

**07:01PM - Nick_Wilde: did you get to the front door again?**

**07:01PM - violetsareblue: yes im right next to it :|||||||||**

**07:01PM - Nick_Wilde: violet look up**

**07:01PM - violetsareblue: what**

**07:01PM - Nick_Wilde: look up from your phone**

**The words on your screen, the ones he sent from where you thought was somewhere inside of the bar as you danced around the front entrance of for the last twenty minutes, those words that you read suddenly left you feeling something other than a passing nervousness.**

**This...sentence you read made every muscle inside your body clench down and you instantly felt heat flood every square inch of your skin. Your cheeks actually prickled as you stood there, staring down at the screen and the last message he sent that you desperately wanted to comply with. Because it was a request, but more than that, it was a warning.**

**When you looked up...when you looked up… he would be there. You were certain. The air refused to fill your lungs in a way that resembled the normal breathing of a sane person, and the sickness you felt teasing at the back of your throat was another warning, but that pull was strong and irrefutable.**

**Your certainties were well founded.**

**You pulled your eyes up.**

**There, where you were certain the door should have been located; where you had been so comfortable to focus on the partition that separated you from him, it was your safety. It was easy. It was not terrifying and it didn't make you want to run away. That door that should have been blocking your entrance was what you let your foolish mind expect, but in reality, when you looked up you found yourself looking into the face of a person, a man, no not just a man...a..well, it was a face of a man, yes, but something so significant hit you as you looked up into those brown eyes that you found your words just gone.**

**“You—”**

**It wasn't a new face.**

**It was a face you knew well. It was a face you saw every single day and he was looking at your face too with a perplexed expression on his face.**

**“What are you doing here?” Your mind felt fuzzy; as if the parts specially designed for coherent thought had been deprived of oxygen for long enough for absolutely nothing in this world to make any sense anymore.**

**His clothes, he wore a white shirt with narrow black pinstripes and a dark blue coat. Exactly as he said he would. No, exactly as Nick_Wilde said he would, but Park Chanyeol, your co-worker at the pet shop, the man who couldn't possibly be wearing this outfit right now, was standing right in front of you with a fierce blush on his cheeks that reached all the way around his head to the tips of both of his ears. His hair was styled up and he had given up on holding the door open behind him but had simply let it go to lean against his back.**

**He was blocking the doorway.**

**He was Park Chanyeol.**

**And he was blocking the fucking doorway.**

**“You?” You said again, not quite comfortable with the tone or volume of your voice as it left your lips and he was still just staring at you with those pink cheeks and pink ears and wide eyes that were of absolutely no help to you right now.**

**When he finally moved it was as if a hypnotist had finally snapped his fingers and brought him back to life.**

**There was a sound, a laugh. A low laugh from deep within his chest and his hands flew up, both of them, big warm palms flew with a quick speed up to cover his face as the smile on his lips was instantly hidden. His eyes closed, his fingertips rubbed roughly over his eyes and when he looked at you again, his hands were still covering from his nose down to his chin. His body shook with his laughter and those big brown eyes curved and crinkled at the sides with his laughter.**

**“I knew it,” you heard him say from behind his hands and you had to lean against the exterior wall of the bar now. This was entirely too much**

**Chanyeol was Nick_Wilde.**

**Nick_Wilde, your Nick, was ...Park Chanyeol?**

**“I knew it was you,” he said again and his hands were down from that face you had grown so used to over the past, “well I didn't know-know, but I had my suspicions.” The face that you hated to admit you had grown so fond of.**

**“Are you kidding me right now?” His suspicions aside, the bomb that had just exploded inside your head had left you reeling and dumbfounded by this revelation. “D-Did you plan this? Is this some sort of a practical joke maybe? An elaborate plan to trick me maybe? Did you somehow find my phone...you….you can’t be him. Are you the only man in this whole city?!”**

**The cork that had been holding your words in had obviously flown straight out and bounced off the wall because you simply couldn't stop talking now. And he couldn't stop giggling, had Chanyeol always been this out of control when it came to laughing? Of course, the evening at the club, the first night you met him (and his lips) came to mind. He had definitely been a jolly sort.**

**“Oh yeah. It’s really me. I can’t believe this,” he was shaking his head through the laughter, “it’s really you. I think we have to sit down. Come on,” he said and you jumped well out of your skin when a big hot hand reached down and grabbed ahold of your own. The yelp of surprise from your parted lips went on deaf ears because you found yourself being pulled, dragged through that god-forsaken doorway into the dimly lit hazy interior of the Pippo the Hippo Bar. His legs were too long. You scrambled to walk quickly as he wove in-between tables, avoiding the drunk dancers who loitered near the jukebox.**

**His grip on your hand wasn't too tight. It wasn't rough. It wasn’t even sweaty or unwelcome. It was infuriatingly secure and warm. His hand was big and you were steered in a way that was easy enough to follow if only you could get your brain to quit swooning every time he turned to look over his shoulder to make sure you were still there. Even if he was holding onto you, there was a strange look in his eyes as if he would turn back and find you gone. You were met with relief in those brown eyes each time he found you still in place. Secure in that hand that held yours.**

**Chanyeol was Nick_Wilde. Fucking hell.**

**“Yes!” The celebration on his voice brought with it a wide smile with too many teeth, “it’s still empty.” He eyed the empty booth in the back of the bar. The one that had the least lighting of all and was just far enough away from the jukebox to be able to actually hold a decent conversation with someone without straining your ears or shouting until you lost your voice.**

**Of course, it would still be empty. Chanyeol reached for the giant yellow ‘Caution Wet Floor’ sign that he had obviously placed on the tabletop in an attempt to keep others from sitting here and you couldn't help laughing at the triumphant expression on his face when he saw that his plan had worked.**

**You moved to sit, placing your knee against the cushy booth seat for a split second when you felt a resistance, a pull of your hand, the one he still had in his.**

**Chanyeol slid into the opposite side of the booth and the hand he held you with refused to budge. It insisted where his face remained blank and passive, yet you got the message clear enough.**

**You tried once more, feeling the stretch as you tried again to sit on the other side and he merely tightened the hold and pulled you back from where you tried to go.**

**“Fine, but only so I can hear you better,” you relented as if you somehow needed to convince yourself that sitting directly beside him on the same side of this table wasn’t exactly your idea of a wonderful time. It wasn’t that you didn't want to. It was that you simply didn't trust yourself being this close to this man. Not with what he knew about you and definitely not with what you knew about him.**

**The seat was warm. This was clearly the spot he had spent waiting for you to arrive and after a bit of shifting to get his hand up into the air and get the attention of the waitstaff you found yourself seated directly in front of an ice cold beer, and directly beside a suspiciously quiet Park Chanyeol who sat directly in front of his very own ice cold beer.**

**“You’re still holding my hand,” you said into your beer and from the corner of your eye you could see him nodding his head in agreement with your statement.**

**“It’s keeping me grounded,” he whispered into the bottle at his lips. “I may look super cool and collected on the outside, but I’m not even home right now. I’m floating around six feet above this table...somewhere up there in la la land.”**

**“Oh,” you whispered back, suddenly eternally grateful for the booth in the back where the music was quiet enough for these quiet whispers to reach their intended ears.**

**“Okay, we’re going to drink these beers...and then we will talk for real. Does that sound like a good plan?” It sounded more like a negotiation with himself but you still nodded your head and agreed to go along.**

**The beers went down too quickly. You hadn’t quite worked up the nerve required to begin this conversation by the time you were done with yours, but the second round came and you found yourself feeling just a little bit of that familiarity you felt around Chanyeol.**

**You felt it during work, usually when the two of you had been working on something together. Cleaning the floors, changing the bedding in the rodent cages, or especially doing something that required cooperation. You found that you and him would always just kinda talk easily about things, and when that comfort hit, the past you had with him, that awkwardness at the beginning, the drunken make out, the tension of him being favored right away by Flo, all of that always seemed to fade away and you and him just got along. You could feel it, the comfort; it was slipping into the tiny spaces between your fingers and his. When his hand moved and he interlocked his fingers between your own, squeezing down once before going slack.**

**“So, I’m the idiot co-worker, one night stand, make-out guy who insulted you before sticking his tongue down your throat for an hour as I checked out other girls?” You suddenly didn't like the whisper anymore.**

**“Uhh—“ you started. Probably to defend yourself here. “My memories of that night are a bit rough—“**

**“First of all,” he lifted his voice some and you braced yourself, the back of your mind still very much aware that he still held your hand, so the anger could not have been that complete right? “We didn’t have a one night stand or anything at all like that. We made out and it was nice.”**

**“You told me I was ugly,” you interrupted. Your brows began to furrow, you could feel them and the grip of his hand on yours tightened when you tried to pull your own hand away, “and that I was not your type.”**

**His focus was turned on you now, eyes wide in complete indignation at the accusations you hurled at him and his free hand lifted up to rest on his chest.**

**It was time for his defense and you would hear him out with the most sarcastic expression your face you could manage. You owed him at least that much.**

**“Excuse you, I did not call you ugly. I said you weren’t like one of those hot girls with the tits. I definitely remember that clearly. And yeah, I thought I had a type before but clearly… I am an idiot and I don't know anything about anything.”**

**You swallowed away the laughter that bubbled to the surface and bit down on your bottom lip as he took a long drink of his beer before setting it down, angling his face in your direction and resting his chin on the heel of his palm with a smile on his face and trouble in his eyes.**

**“I believe we also have to discuss something else besides how good of a kisser I am,” he said and you closed your eyes as you inhaled through your nose, biting down hard on the inside of your cheek to keep yourself calm through his current line of questioning.**

**“And what is that, Chanyeol.” Your own voice was soft and controlled. You mentally patted yourself on the back for your composure. You sure were surprising yourself tonight. It was probably the beer that helped.**

**“How impossibly handsome I also am. How there is no possible way someone with these modelesque looks could possibly be interested in you.” Damn him. How dare he quote you back at you with such accuracy at a time like this. Your beer was empty now. The glass held for a while over your parted lips gave you one or two final drops and even a little shake offered no further courage from which to drink and you set the glass down with a genuine pout on your lips.**

**He exhaled a deep breath and you turned your eyes back to him. “But what should I do?” He had been silent for a moment since asking his question. What had he asked? What he should do? About what?**

**“What should you do about what, Chanyeol?” His silence wavered for a moment when his eyes closed and he exhaled again, a soft groan playing from the back of his throat. His free hand rubbed once, from the top of his face down over his eyes to cover his mouth and he turned to you again, eyes soft and lips covered. “What should I do about you?”**

**“Me?” Your fingertip trailed over your own chest and his eyes tracked it for a moment. His eyelids were slow moving as if he didn't really want to blink and miss the tiny movements you made and his focus was slow to return to your eyes. He nodded his head twice. Two big ups and downs and the sounds from the table in front of you signaled the arrival of another pair of beers.**

**“Well…I mean...what do you want to do?” He inhaled again and held his bottom lip securely between his teeth as his eyes rolled. There was a small laugh, a puff of air. Single and quick through his nose and he followed with a shrug of his lips.**

**“Should we make a list of pros and cons?” You were, perhaps a bit drunk now. Perhaps you were a lightweight and you had gone from just a bit courageous to brazen at this point. It was his fault. Coming in here, with that face.**

**You lifted your hand. The one held hostage and placed both of yours, still very much linked together on top of the table. Your hand was on top of his and you extended your fingers, ready to count down the pros and cons of such a situation.**

**“Okay. You think I am cute.” Chanyeol cleared his throat quietly beside you and folded your pinky finger down with reason number one.**

**“You think I am handsome.” His fingers reached for your ring finger and folded it down.**

**“But you don't think I am hot,” you said and lifted the ring finger back up.**

**“You call me an idiot at least once a day,” he said and he reached for your pinky finger, pulling it up again and you covered your mouth quickly with your free hand when you laughed too loudly.**

**“Stop laughing, you’re so mean,” he said with a cute pout that instantly quieted down your giggles.**

**“I’m a good kisser,” he said suddenly, reaching for your pinky finger and folding it down quickly and his fingers were on your ring finger, folding it down as well before saying anything else right away. He saw the question in your eyes and he quietly added, “you are also a very good kisser.”**

**“You are the first person I want to talk to when something good happens to me,” you said without any trace of a smile of laughter in your voice. The confession came suddenly and he looked surprised to hear it for a second before quickly reaching down for the next finger on your hand. You now had three of your fingers wrapped securely around his hand. Two more reasons….did you have two more reasons left in you?**

**“You’re the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep every single night,” he said with your index finger pushed down you felt his fingertips around the tip of your thumb as he chewed on his lip and ran his fingertips around the edge of your thumbnail.**

**He then pushed your thumb down, wrapping it around his hand carefully and there was a soft inhale of breath beside you as he did it. But he hadn't said anything. There was no final reason given for this, yet he had folded the finger as if the deal was made. As if the decision had been made long ago for you both when the cosmos decided to thrust you together with him again and again and again and yet there was something brewing on his lips. You could feel it in the way he stared down at your hands linked together and you could hear it in the tremble you heard in his breathing.**

**“I think I might be in love with you,” he whispered. It was, of course, the final reason. It was, of course, the last deafening blow that hit you hard in the chest and you looked up into his wide eyes. This quiet and dark booth in the back of the bar, with its excellent real estate for hushed conversation, was absolutely no help for the loud pounding of your heartbeat in your ears. In fact, the longer you sat here, the more you were convinced that there had to be some sort of a spell on this booth. Those brown eyes, pink cheeks and those lips that hung open in silence. The breathing that you had heard so loudly before had gone silent and he watched your face, terrified both of what he had just admitted to, and what your reaction might be.**

**“Me too,” you managed through the noise inside your own head and you felt the return of him. You felt the warmth of his hands on the sides of your face and you felt the gravity that you gave in to easily. You felt the warmth of his breath from his parted lips and the softness of his lips against yours as they collapsed against yours.**

**Chanyeol kissed you softly. His hands held your face with a careful grip and his lips begged against your own for an entrance. When you gave in, the parting of your own lips fit expertly between his own and you were thrust back into that comfort. The comfort of his kiss and incredible way he savored you. This—this was familiar. This was the kind of kiss that melted you from the inside. When the tip of his tongue, wet and warm, ran along the inside of your mouth, reaching for your own, tasting like heaven and brushing along the surface of your teeth as his grip changed and you felt the spark take to flame.**

**The breathe he took from the space of your mouth, pulled straight from your lungs and your hands grasped for him. Wrinkling his crisp shirt; slipping around behind his flank below the dark blue coat where he was the warmest.**

**“Fuck—“ the curse from was his soul, spoken in a whisper against your ear and in so low a register you felt it creep along your spine like fingers running quickly over piano keys, “you taste so sweet, I feel like I just got hit by a truck.”**

**“There are so many trucks in here,” you whispered in this ear where your lips had found the warm smooth skin to nip against. You found that you enjoyed the quiet sounds he made when your kisses landed on his neck just below his earlobe.**

**You hadn’t quite expected the laughter. The wandering hands yes, but the deep belly laughter that shook his chest and made him pull back from you was a surprise.**

**“God, you’re so cute,” he said with his eyes wrinkled at the sides and his teeth bared. You had been close enough to his mouth to feel the cool hard surface of those teeth against your lips. But why was he stopping? You didn’t want to stop.**

**This was nice, he was nice and he felt nice, he tasted nice. You had even counted out all the reasons why this needed to happen, the evidence was there and all laid out. You leaned into him again, pressing your lips against his smiling ones and he made a small sound. Something like a whine. Something that made the flames inside your belly grow hotter.**

**Cute.**

**His lips parted again, he accepted your kiss and returned it well though but his hands didn't roam freely as they had the first night in the club. He seemed, instead to hold you in place, to keep you from climbing up into his lap and straddling him here in this booth. Why was he behaving himself so? You wondered what I would take to get Park Chanyeol to really misbehave.**

**You’re so cute.**

**Again and again, the memory of his words echoed in your mind. His mouth sucked harder against your bottom lip and you felt teeth sink into the flesh, but that word nagged you.**

**Even now, even with what you were doing with him, were you still only cute?**

**Did you really not have any bit of ‘hotness’ in your entire body?**

**“I can't believe you don't find me hot,” you pulled away from his mouth with a complaint instantly on your lips and his eyes opened quickly as he pulled his upper lip in between his teeth. His lips glistened in the dim lighting. Their pinkness matched the tips of his ears. “Again and again you call me cute. I’m not just cute you know.”**

**“Umm, you are also adorable,” he spoke in that low timbre of his and reached forward for a sip of his beer, yet the false compliment he threw had a teasing tone just below the surface. If you hadn’t been working closely with the man for the past month or so you may have missed it. But you had been teased by him enough to know this look in his eyes very well.**

**The scowl on your face was involuntary and his smile widened when he saw it. A little kid poking at a sleeping kitten, satisfied when it reared up to claw at its finger.**

**True to his nature, he even lifted a finger in your direction, poking it lightly against the softness of your cheek you glared in his direction at his audacity.**

**“Precious and lovable and—“ it only took a quick turn of your head. Your lips had already been open and his mind had been so preoccupied with finding synonyms for the word cute that he was caught off guard by the wetness of your mouth enveloping the tip of his finger to move quickly enough. He flinched, pulling his hand back and you moved to grab his hand before he could escape, opening your mouth further to encase the entire finger, you swirled your tongue around the digit, watching the look on his face as you did it; enjoying the look of shock in his eyes when you sucked it dry and pulled it out of your mouth.**

**He was silent. Whatever words he had been meaning to add were simply lost on his tongue and the useless thing sat there within his parted lips, the tip wet and glistening as it rested over the top mound of his bottom lip.**

**You leaned forward again, aiming for that tongue and when your mouth parted over his he bent and caved to you. You could feel the tremble in his hands when you pulled his tongue into your mouth and sucked down against the soft muscle and whined again. That same tempting whine you heard earlier, only this time it was because of the exploration of your hands below the table top. Over his black slacks, your palm roamed and you felt the obvious effects of your mouth, hardened and stiff below the zipper of his pants.**

**Something had clearly possessed you when you reached for the tiny metal tab with your wandering fingertips and the sound of the zipper sliding down was downright loud in the intimate silence of this dim booth at the back of the Hippo the Pippo bar.**

**The sound alerted the man of your intentions and all at once you felt him stiffen. All at once, you felt the muscles in his thighs come alive and his kiss halted and paused as he pulled his tongue out of your mouth, and closed his jaw, and leaned his head back a fraction of an inch. You opened your eyes to look at him close up.**

**Gone was the teasing look. Replacing it was darkness. Dark eyes, dark pupils, a heavy steady rhythm of breath from his chest and his hands sat fisted at his waist. He wasn't even touching you at this point, yet you could feel the drug of you pulsing fast in his system. You could see the effects of you on his face, on his clenched jaw and on his pink cheeks and ears, his swollen lips and the hardness of his dick just beyond the thin fabric of his underwear below the slacks you had just opened.**

**You stared into his eyes and he unclenched the muscles in his jaw, swallowed once and clenched down hard again.**

**“Am I still just cute, Chanyeol?” Your voice was a whisper. Your fingers ticked over the soft fabric of his underwear, lightly trailing a directionless path over the stiffness of the underside of his dick and his eyes searched yours as you did it.**

**You saw the smallest movement of his head. It was a tiny back and forth movement and it tasted just as sweet as the softness of his tongue moments earlier.**

**“T-There are other people here,” he whispered under his breath, “what if someone sees...”**

**“Stop me if you want,” you shrugged your lips and his nostrils flared with his quick inhale, “but a word of warning. If you stop me now I’ll never ever touch you like this again. And that would make me sad. Do you want to make me sad, Yeollie?” Your own voice had taken on a thickness that you hardly recognized. You felt powerful. It was unusual but definitely not unwanted. In fact, you loved it, this feeling you suddenly had over this beautiful man. You felt like you had been losing at life up until this point and the tables had finally turned and you started winning. It was addictive. You wanted more of it.**

**“No, I don't want to make you sad,” he said quickly through gritted teeth. You could see him wavering now. You could see the way his eyes rolled every time you touched him through the fabric and you could feel the stiffening below your fingertips as he became more and more affected by you.**

**“Good boy,” you said much too slowly to the widening of his eyelids as you slipped your fingers slowly around the thickness of him. There was a change in his eyes when you said it and he half blinked his eyes twice, not closing them. He looked into your face. There was a definite appreciation in those eyes to the words you spoke so sweetly to him. “You’re so sweet you know. So soft and so sensitive.” You had reached the opening of his underwear and you felt the smoothness of skin just below the surface of the fabric and your fingers slipped into the parting and wrapped around him entirely. “You’re so handsome like this.” He tried to keep his breathing quiet and under control and the struggle made this all the more intense. You longed for the tiny slips. The moans, the quiet mews, the whining below his throat that he had little control over. They fed your addiction.**

**While you longed for some wetness to aid in the movements you would simply have to make due with the softness of his outer skin as it slipped up and down his shaft. Every now and then your thumb would make a pass just below the head of his cock or over the surface, rubbing the tiny bit of moisture you found there around the smooth sensitive skin. He was biting down hard on his lips and his posture had shifted, ass slipping forward below the table as much as he dared, with his legs parted to give your hand plenty of space for access.**

**His hands, which had been so still and stiff at his side suddenly moved and he leaned forward, his elbows on the table in front of him he lifted his palms to lay both of them carefully over his face, hiding the heavenly expression he had taken on since you began to move your hand up and down over the length of his erection.**

**You stopped your motions entirely, hand still very much inside his pants and very much holding his dick, but you merely went completely still when he hid himself and his delightful reactions.**

**He felt the change and pulled his fingers aside to peer at you through their parting.**

**Your face was calm and controlled. You were careful not to react too much to what you had been doing to him. Only his flushed red face, the glassiness in his eyes as they rolled and fluttered with your every movement had been your wonderful reward, yet here he stood covering his reactions from you. Taking away exactly what you had wanted to see.**

**“Do you want me to stop?” You hadn’t meant the question to sound so threatening, but you saw the rapid-fire movement of his head ticking back and forth.**

**“No, don't stop, please,” it sounded like begging to you. It was a dangerous sound.**

**He was trembling somewhere and the waitress who had been keeping an eye on the table in the back suddenly turned her attention in your direction. You placed a passive smile on your lips and out of the corner of your eye you saw Chanyeol drop his hands from over his face and screw his eyes together tightly. To the outsider, it may look like pain. Of course, you knew this was anything but, but the waitress did a double take at his expression just the same.**

**You looked from her to him for a moment before smiling back at the young woman with a dismissive hand wave. ‘He’s drunk,’ you mouthed silently and lifted the beer bottle off the table with your free hand. Your other hand resumed the motions inside his pants and your pace quickened, acutely aware of the situation now that your head began to clear some with the attention from the waitress. The risk only served to heighten the arousal that had been coursing through your body. She nodded her head and turned back toward the rest of the room before disappearing behind the bar.**

**Chanyeol’s eyes were closed now as he breathed through his parted lips. Every now and then the tip of his tongue would lick over the surface of flesh that his heavy breathing had dried out and his two hands wrung together over the surface of the tabletop, gripping around each other until his knuckles turned white.**

**“Oh—f-fuck,” he hissed between his teeth as he inhaled through it, he opened his eyes and looked around the small space of the booth you both occupied. His hand lifted again covering his face, nervous and trembling as he fought off what you were sure was the orgasm he so desperately wanted to give in to.**

**“I can stop if this is too much for you, honey,” you cooed beside his earlobe and your lips opened to catch the soft bit of flesh between teeth. He let out a low sound that changed and grew into a higher pitched whine and his head shook back and forth in a fast and shallow rhythm.**

**“Don’t … stop,” the request made you smile and the wetness between your legs spread, remind you of exactly how affected you were by this.**

**“Please,” Chanyeol added, his eyes opening briefly to look into yours.**

**“You’re always so polite. You never forget to say Please and Thank you. You really are the sweetest.” You saw the corners of his mouth twitching with your words again and he exhaled heavy.**

**“Chanyeol,” you said in a hushed breath against his neck. His head ticked, eyes alerting at once to your voice. It woke him from the trance he had been placed in and you watched the beads of sweat that grew on the back of his neck. “Will you let me watch your face as you cum in your pants? I want to see how beautiful you look when I make you cum. Will you do that for me... will you cum for me so I can watch you?”**

**The pace of your fist around his cock had speed up now and you could feel the tension in his thigh muscles below your forearm. He was beyond words. Every bit of effort in his body seemed to be keeping his voice silent and his orgasm at bay now, but you saw the color leave his face just a bit more when you spoke to him.**

**“You’ve been holding it back for so long now, don't you want to cum for me? I want to feel you cum in my hand. I want to taste it too, won’t you be a good boy and let me taste you?”**

**That did it. His body tensed around you and you felt spasms of movement just below the surface of his dick, an upward movement in the fluttering of his skin and he threw his head back with his eyes closed tightly.**

**“F-Fuck,” he said in a low groan and he quickly covered his mouth as heat and moisture spread around the palm of your hand, flooded through his underwear and soaked into the fabric of his black slacks. Your elation felt like a drink you simply could not put down and your smile was wide and triumphant as he heaved heavily and went still beside you. His eyes which had been closed so tightly parted marginally when he caught your movement.**

**You pulled your hand free of his pants, wet and glistening in the dim lighting, you could make out the strings of white liquid that linked your fingers together. His mouth was open and his eyes took in the sinful sight as you lifted your soaked fingers to your mouth and slipped them inside.**

**The taste of him was bitter. Salty. Sex. His scent was strong and his eyes feasted on the sight of you licking up every drop that remained on your hand.**

**Your captive audience watched in complete silence until you shrugged, satisfied with your clean-up job, you grabbed the cocktail napkin from below your unfinished and now warm beer bottle and dried your hand completely with a grin.**

**“Holy shit,” you heard him say beside you. He zipped up his slacks and untucked his shirt to cover the very obvious wet stain on his crotch.**

**“Holy-fucking-shit.” He repeated for emphasis and the smile on his face was growing as the chuckles began to spill out of him, “I would just like to formally apologize for ever saying you weren’t hot. You are hot. You are smoking fucking hot, and that was the hottest fucking thing anyone...anyone has ever done to me. Oh my god—”**

**“Chanyeol,” you interrupted his speech. He had a tendency to talk a lot about a lot of things and you currently had a situation in your pants that needed some attention. And you would be damned if you left this evening at a single handjob under a table in the back of a crowded bar. His name on your lips served its purpose, he closed his mouth and looked at your face with a question on his eyes and the fingers you slowly raked through the back of his hair had him leaning down closer to you, closer to your lips that beckoned to him. His mouth returned to yours at once. His kiss was eager and just as hungry for you as before he came, yet the kiss wasn’t the only reason you called his name.**

**The fringe of his hair tickled against your forehead and when his lips moved further down your face, down your neck, toward your earlobe you found your chance to speak.**

**“Yeollie, take me home. You need to clean up now.” He moaned lowly against your ear and his teeth opened up to bite down on the skin of your neck as he nodded his head. You felt his response yet he wasn’t moving right away.**

**“Yeah, I’m a mess,” he said in what he believed to be agreement with what you were talking about.**

**“No, Honey. Not you. Me. You need to clean me up,” you spoke into the space above his shoulder and he went still, “with your tongue,” you added when he looked into your eyes. The pink in his cheeks was suddenly back and he nodded his head up and down, eager to agree to anything you wanted. He was beautiful like this. You ran your fingertips through his hair, raking your nail over the warm skin of his scalp and his eyes fluttered closed with the touch. “God, you’re so handsome like this.” The blinding smile you saw in return for the compliment was all you needed.**

**Well, until you got back to his place at least.**

**THE END**


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